The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers are chasing first-place teams in their divisions. It was an extremely close Game 1 Monday night, watch the action live for free online as MLB.TV will provide coverage of the Pirates vs. Rangers at no cost.
The Pirates are glad to see Francisco Liriano on the mound. Their southpaw was hit hard in his last start, but he's come up big for the Pirates all season long. Liriano was rocked by the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up seven earned runs over three innings pitched. It was definitely not his strongest performance of the season, but Liriano has been able to get the Pirates wins in crucial games.
Liriano could ensure the Pirates remain at least a game behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals. Entering Tuesday, the Bucs are just a game behind the Cardinals in the N.L. Central standings. Though the Pirates have yet to clinch a playoff spot, Monday was a big day for Pittsburgh as their victory over Yu Darvish was the team's 82nd of the season, giving the Pirates their first winning season in over two decades. They will attempt to carry this momentum into the 2013 postseason, as they are still capable of clinching a playoff spot via the Wild Card, but they will be gunning for first place.
The Rangers have struggled as of late and find themselves in a bit of a deeper hole than the Pirates. Texas is two games behind the Oakland A's in the A.L. West standings. The Rangers will depend on 22-year-old lefty, Martin Perez to help them rebound from a tough 0-1 loss on Monday. In his last start against the A's, Perez went seven innings, allowing just one run on eight hits with no walks and five strike outs. It was one of his most dominant starts of the year and it came at a crucial point for the Rangers.
Both the Rangers and Pirates have enough time to make a comeback if they fall behind in their division. However, neither team wants to take that risk. The Rangers have almost the entire A.L. East trailing them in the A.L. Wild Card, while the Pirates are being chased by the Cincinnati Reds in the N.L. Central and the Wild Card.
